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The Feb. 7 session of the Institute for Retired People (IRP) will feature Helen Malina from the InterFaith Works Center for New Americans.

Malina will discuss how the refugee resettlement program handles the task of creating new homes for families that often arrive with only the clothes on their backs and the items they can carry in a suitcase. She will share how the Central New York community welcomes refugees and immigrant families and helps them establish new lives.

The IRP program runs from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. and guests are welcome to attend.

IRP sessions are held at the First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 E. Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville. For more information, visit uc.syr.edu/irp, call 315-443-4846, or e-mail cmkarlho@syr.edu.

IRP is a community program established by University College of Syracuse University, dedicated to the principle of lifelong learning.

Summer@Syracuse announces the recipients of the Innovative Summer Program Development Fund (ISPDF) for summer 2013. The fund provides financial support to encourage faculty and departments to design and deliver new summer courses and programs.

Fourteen program submissions, representing nine schools/colleges across campus, were chosen to receive funding (up to $20,000) to develop or advance long-term growth of summer curricula.

Among those selected is the School of Architecture, which will offer a course that focuses on a unique view and hands-on experience. The course intersects the architecture and urban planning disciplines with local examples of urban revitalization by engaging policy makers, developers and funders. Led by Marc Norman, director of UPSTATE: A Center for Design, Research and Real Estate at the School of Architecture, the students will create new models for affordable, high-performance homes in urban residential neighborhoods.

The David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics received funding for its proposal to introduce a course based on the therapeutic use of horses in helping individuals of all ages with various physical, cognitive and emotional challenges. Undergraduate and graduate students will work with children as young as 4 years old who have physical and/or cognitive challenges, as well as teenagers and young adults with autism, Down Syndrome and other cognitive/intellectual disabilities. Children and adults with traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, etc., as well as military veterans with health and mental problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, will also participate. Paul Caldwell, associate professor in Falk College’s School of Social Work, will lead the 400/600 level class.

The Innovative Summer Program Development Fund is administered through University College. For more information, contact Chris Cofer, executive director of SU’s Summer@Syracuse at 443-1988 or clcofer@syr.edu.

The Jan. 17 session of the Institute for Retired People (IRP) will feature Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner. Miner will discuss the challenges the city faces and what needs to be done to address them.

Miner attended Syracuse University, graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science and journalism in 1992. After college, she worked as the assistant upstate coordinator for Geraldine Ferraro for U.S. Senate, and then served as Central New York Regional Representative to Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1994. In 1999, Miner earned her juris doctorate from SUNY-Buffalo and began working at Blitman & King, LLP as a labor lawyer, representing unions and employees.

Miner became a Syracuse common councilor-at-large in 2002, and was re-elected in 2005. During her tenure on the council, Miner established a reputation as a principled leader who asks tough questions. This led the Syracuse Post-Standard to endorse Mayor Miner’s 2009 candidacy for mayor.

The IRP program runs from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., and is free and open to the public. IRP sessions are held at the First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 East Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville. For more information, visit uc.syr.edu/irp, call 315-443-4846, or e-mail cmkarlho@syr.edu.

Eileen Jevis, manager of public relations at University College of Syracuse University, was elected unanimously to the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Syracuse.

Jevis currently serves on the board of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Syracuse Chapter, and is a member of the Corporate Volunteer Council of Syracuse. She also served as a member of the planning committee for the Syracuse Habitat for Humanity Veterans Build.

As the coordinator of the annual Veterans Day Ceremony at Syracuse University, Jevis was awarded a bronze medal and the U.S. Army Commander’s Award for Public Service in 2010. This is the fourth highest honor the United States Department of the Army can bestow upon a civilian.

During her tenure as a writer at the Catholic Sun, Jevis won several writing awards from the Catholic Press Association, the Syracuse Press Club and the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Award for coverage of world mission news in a diocesan newspaper.

Jevis earned a bachelor’s degree in English writing arts from SUNY Oswego and a master’s degree in general education from Le Moyne College.

The Dec. 20 session of the Institute for Retired People (IRP) will feature Liz Ayers, director of development and grants at WCNY TV.

Ayers will share the details of her recent trip to Italy with a group from Central New York that traveled with the television production team that was working on a documentary on the canonization of Mother Marianne Cope.
Ayers has been a television staple for 26 years in Syracuse. She worked as a news anchor for WTVH for nearly 20 years, and for the past seven years has found a home at WCNY, channel 24.1.

Ayers hosts WCNY auctions and this year she also participated in the WCNY documentary “A Saint for Central New York.” As director of development and grants, Ayers searches for funding for television documentaries and educational programs. She has won numerous achievement awards for her commitment to community.

The IRP program runs from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., and is free and open to the public. IRP sessions are held at the First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 E. Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville. For more information, visit uc.syr.edu/irp, call 315-443-4846, or e-mail cmkarlho@syr.edu.

IRP is a community program established by University College of Syracuse University, dedicated to the principle of lifelong learning.